New Delhi: Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national general secretary Byreddy Shabari backed the women’s empowerment in the Lok Sabha Thursday, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “changing their lives”.
The TDP has also backed delimitation, with Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Nara Lokesh thanking the PM on X soon after the PM’s speech in the Lok Sabha.
The TDP is a key ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). In an interview to The Economic Times, TDP president and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu backed the delimitation exercise and emphasised the need to delink seat allocation concerns, stating that the Centre’s formula is “scientific” and would lead to increased representation.
Saying that women were the embodiment of Goddesses Durga and Lakshmi, Shabari said women’s reservation had “awakened the power of every woman in the nation”.
‘While the nation had long spoken about women’s development, the focus has now shifted to women-led development, giving women the opportunity to lead the nation. “When women shine, the nation rises,” she said.
“I would like to appreciate the NDA government—today, over 60 to 80 per cent national policies are geared towards women beneficiaries,” the TDP MP said in Rajya Sabha today.
Shabari remarked that the Telugu Desam Party has focused on women’s empowerment since its inception—from the leadership of N. T. Rama Rao, who ensured property rights for women, to N. Chandrababu Naidu, who strengthened women economically through Development of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) groups.
She also said that TDP was among the first to advocate 30 per cent reservation for women and actively put it into practice, elevating women and giving them an equal standing in society.
Shabari emphasised the importance of economic empowerment along with political representation, citing schemes in Andhra Pradesh that have supported several women entrepreneurs and enabled the rise of ‘lakhpati didis’.
“Political empowerment alone is not enough, economic strength must accompany it, Indian women are no longer confined by traditional limitations but are ready to lead from the front” she said.
Shabari took a swipe at the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) describing their regime as a “dark phase” when they failed to ensure the safety of women and harassed TDP workers, adding that the chief minister’s family was abused as well.
While leaders from other southern states, like M. K. Stalin, Siddaramaiah and Revanth Reddy have backed women’s reservation but raised strong objections to its linkage with delimitation.
The INDIA Bloc parties led by the Congress have been alleging that the government wants to “bulldoze” delimitation in the name of women’s reservation. The parties had taken a unanimous decision to vote against the Bill, specifying that the Opposition stood in favour of reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies but against delimitation.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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